( LEFT) James Crosetto, Jeremy Ellison (bottom) and Seth Schwiethale in their project room.
(TOP) A year of labor: the microprocessor controlled car.
according to Hauser. “Interview,” might be another apt descriptor – the event is known to draw employers who are looking for promising students who, even as undergraduates are exploring promising scientific topics. Back to the project at hand – the “Mars Rover.” When Crosetto, Ellison and Schwiethale envisioned their project, they hoped to work on something they’d be interested in – exactly the type of thing that makes a good capstone. Ellison suggested something he had been interested in for years: remote control cars. They developed a project abstract that embraced the discipline of computer engineering (building an microprocessor controlled car that has a camera mounted on it) with computer science (developing software that makes the car and camera operable in real time). Then, they moved into design analysis. Then, they figured out how to scale back their plans for something more manageable. It is part of the process, Hauser notes – nothing wrong with that. Part of any design process is discovering what is
(RIGHT) Professor Tosh Kakar with Crosetto, Ellison and Schwiethale.
manageable and what isn’t – and then figuring out what can actually be created. “Even the things we thought would be the simplest tasks, like working on the basic interface with the robot’s camera, have posed unexpected problems,” said Seth Schwiethale, a computer science major from Port Angeles, Wash. As he said this, all three professors – Wolff, Hauser and Kakar – nod knowingly. They’ve been there before. These are valuable lessons learned. “I’m not going to step in all the time,” said Hauser, “[the students] won’t learn anything that way.” By all indications, the students are learning – a lot. They’ve been able to adjust the scope of their project, and as the second semester begins, they’ve started prototyping their robot and the implementation phase. This is where Kakar comes in. He likes to talk about “cracking the whip” – he even likes to pantomime the motion. He does it with a smile, but everyone gets the picture. This opportunity to work so closely with their professor is so valuable – Kakar is just as passionate about guiding the students through the
capstone as the students are in completing it. Kakar talks about “milestones” – setting up enough successes early in the year, so that they are able to reach their project goal. All CSCE capstone projects take place over the entire academic year – professors like to get the students thinking about it during their junior year. Any project is going to need many milestones – and a mentor like Kakar to offer support, insight and an occasional whip crack. Even so, there will be enough allnighters in the project room before the trio is all done. But given the experience they are getting, their ability to work so closely with their professor – not to mention the opportunities it might provide after graduation – they all say it is worth the time and effort. Frequently, students are even hired based on their capstone accomplishments. “It has been great,” says Crosetto, a computer science and computer engineering major from Ashford, Wash. “But you realize how much work it really takes.” Just like real life. S —Steve Hansen
LIFE OF THE MIND > PLU SCENE SPRING 2009 9